What Is Graffiti In Urban Society
Liam Eifert
English 802
October 12, 2014
Graffiti in Urban Society Defining what is or is not art is difficult. Another concept that is difficult to define is what constitutes a crime and why something is considered a crime. In the case of graffiti and street art, both of these difficult concepts collide, creating a very controversial subject. Since the beginning of simple hip hop graffiti in Philadelphia during the 1960s, graffiti has evolved into many different forms and has developed a subculture that follows specific artists and styles. However, because of its methods, graffiti has become a controversial practice which many believe does not benefit society but rather damages and vandalizes the public space. Others see past the legitimate …show more content…
legal concerns and attempt to bring forth the qualities of graffiti and street art that can benefit society. There are many generalizations and ideologies about the subject that need to be dispelled in order to take an unbiased look at this art form. Street art and graffiti have potential to be beneficial to an urban society because of the qualities they bring such as beautification, culture, and economic benefit. Graffiti is defined as a form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group.
The common form of hip hop graffiti which utilizes stylized lettering usually in a paint medium began in the 1960s in Philadelphia and quickly spread to other cities around the world. During the 1990s in New York, a movement was begun by some graffiti writers towards legal graffiti after the implementation of new anti-graffiti policies in the subways of Manhattan. Since then, zero tolerance policies have been implemented in cities all around the world. This has helped to popularize legal graffiti practices by making illegal graffiti less desirable. A more recent trend in graffiti is street art such as the work of popular artist, Banksy. Rather than a medium of communication between writers, street art is commonly directed towards the general public and often contains messages of a political nature communicated through various pop culture icons and recognizable figures. Street art can be seen in many forms such as paint, wheat paste posters, stickers, and sculptures. These methods of legal graffiti and street art are beginning to change the public view of graffiti and its
subculture.
The mainstream ideology that graffiti is inherently bad comes partly from the widespread distribution of the broken windows theory. The broken windows theory states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well-ordered condition may stop further vandalism and escalation into more serious crime. One of the main ideas of this theory is that control and order is what keeps a neighborhood safe and attractive. Also the theory suggests that graffiti and other misdemeanors lead into serious crime and make a neighborhood unsafe. The problem with this theory in association with graffiti is that if it is considered a form of art, it serves to beautify rather than exist as an uncontrolled blemish in an urban setting.
In order to distinguish whether or not graffiti can be considered art one must examine the line between art and vandalism in graffiti. In Our Desires are Ungovernable, Mark Halsey and Alison Young interviewed several graffiti writers. In an interview, J said that, “If you can appreciate it, then I think it is art” (J). In cases of illegal graffiti, it will always be considered, to an extent, both vandalism and art because it is still being done on property of others. In order for government and the graffiti subculture to coexist both sides must take steps to bridge the gap between vandalism and art. By utilizing options such as public art projects and legal graffiti walls the public image of graffiti can be changed to recognize the artistic value of graffiti art and to dispel any bad ideas about the art form.
Graffiti and street art can contribute to the beautification of a city in several ways. First, a wall that is painted with a graffiti mural can offer unique aesthetics to what would otherwise be a plain unattractive wall. As well as turning a wall into a piece of art, the wall will also be clean because the artists who paint the graffiti murals maintain their work after it is complete. In doing so it also provides a destination and a landmark to the location in which it is painted. McAuliffe and Iverson quoted that, “there have even been instances of graffiti by famous artists being protected through heritage controls because of the character that they lend to an urban area” (Dickens 2008b; MacDowall 2006; Young 2010). Permanent legal graffiti projects leave a community with a lasting cultural impression. In Painting with permission: legal graffiti in New York City, Ronald Kramer finds that the graffiti writers he interviewed “felt that they enhanced the community areas in which they produced murals” (Kramer, 246). Members of the communities in which these murals are painted also appreciate the aesthetic value that comes from the art. Graffiti art can contribute to neighborhood revitalization by offering attractive art culture that adds curb appeal to a street. This can in turn raise property values if done correctly and provided with the right market. Some graffiti writers have also “overwhelmingly reported positive feedback from the public” (Kramer, 247). It is clear that the public appreciates the writers who choose to work in legal graffiti and the projects that they create. Additionally, Kramer found that everyone who was questioned supported public art programs such as legal graffiti projects and would like to see more of them in their city. This shows that art programs have the public support they need and that they can do good to the areas in which they are implemented. Graffiti and street art have cultural value in their specific urban society and in world society. Each city has its own unique graffiti style that has been molded by the artists of the area and their work. In Conceptualizing Graffiti in the city, Cameron McAuliffe and Kurt Iverson state that, “writing illegal graffiti for an audience of other graffiti writers offers a way to establish a kind of cultural capital within the graffiti-writing public sphere” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 136). This means that graffiti allows writers to create something that has value within the subculture. The illegality of graffiti is a part of the culture and the idea of graffiti writing. However, illegal graffiti can be a gateway for urban youth towards applying their skills to legal art such as legal graffiti projects. As Herbert Kohl states, “wall graffiti provides material for a glimpse at the life of urban youths” (Kohl, 28). Legal graffiti in turn provides these artists a chance at a career in which they can apply their talent. McAuliffe and Iverson reinforce the fact that, “many graffiti writers embrace illegality as an implicit part of graffiti practice” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 137). While this is true, the practice also represents a culture that can be beneficial to society if given the chance.
Not only does the graffiti determine the graffiti writing subculture of an area but also the culture of the city in which it is created. One common graffiti subculture is hip-hop culture which started in Philadelphia. This culture revolves around graffiti, music, and dance and is an important part of the Philadelphia culture. Graffiti projects become landmarks in cities and can influence the style of or become part of contemporary art. In cities such as New York City, there are sections or streets in neighborhoods reserved as public legal graffiti exhibits that draw many people to view the art. Recent increases in international circulation of graffiti art through various mediums has, “produced a complex global geography of graffiti and street art tied in interesting ways with the rise of creative cities” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 136). Graffiti adds to the vibrancy of urban culture and nurtures young artistic minds while also becoming a part of the global economy.
As graffiti finds its way into the contemporary art scene, it also becomes a part of the local, national, and global economies mostly through marketing and advertising. On a national and global scale, graffiti is something that companies have utilized in marketing towards a hip urban lifestyle. On a local level, graffiti projects in cities can become destinations. In doing so, graffiti projects benefit the local economy by turning businesses in the surrounding area into secondary destinations. In addition to this, graffiti subculture has its own economy revolving around related products and supplies as well as the buying and selling of art. Among the graffiti subculture and the urban realm, “a picture can circulate among friends and colleagues, be published online or in a graffiti magazine, or even make an appearance in a best-selling book” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 137). This can translate to a network of economic opportunity for graffiti writers and including contemporary art, design, advertising, and mainstream media. For example, the Klughaus gallery in New York City is a contemporary art gallery that features artists that began and continue to work in graffiti and street art. The gallery has also “become one of the leading agencies to represent graffiti and street artists in New York City” (klughaus.net). This and other such companies are building business opportunities with large and small companies for street artists and providing them with legal outlets for their skills. Opportunity for writers to sell their skills legally will lead to a more widespread acceptance for the art form.
In conclusion, beautification, culture, and economy are potential benefits that street art and graffiti can bring to urban society. Emerging popular street artists are clearly demonstrating these benefits through their art. Large companies are currently demonstrating this by using graffiti in marketing and sales. This proves that these art styles are attractive to people of all kinds. The movement to the forefront of art by graffiti will work to decrease illegal tagging and increase legal street art. As urban culture continues to evolve, these forms of art will become more prevalent and accepted and their artistic and cultural value will increase.
Works cited Kramer, Ronald. "Painting with permission: legal graffiti in New York City." Ethnography 11.2 (2010): 235-253.
Halsey, Mark, and Alison Young. "‘Our desires are ungovernable’ Writing graffiti in urban space." Theoretical criminology 10.3 (2006): 275-306.
McAuliffe, Cameron, and Kurt Iveson. "Art and crime (and other things besides…): Conceptualising graffiti in the city." Geography Compass 5.3 (2011): 128-143.
Kohl, Herbert, and James Hinton. "Names graffiti and culture." The Urban Review 3.5 (1969): 24-38.
English 802
October 12, 2014
Graffiti in Urban Society Defining what is or is not art is difficult. Another concept that is difficult to define is what constitutes a crime and why something is considered a crime. In the case of graffiti and street art, both of these difficult concepts collide, creating a very controversial subject. Since the beginning of simple hip hop graffiti in Philadelphia during the 1960s, graffiti has evolved into many different forms and has developed a subculture that follows specific artists and styles. However, because of its methods, graffiti has become a controversial practice which many believe does not benefit society but rather damages and vandalizes the public space. Others see past the legitimate …show more content…
legal concerns and attempt to bring forth the qualities of graffiti and street art that can benefit society. There are many generalizations and ideologies about the subject that need to be dispelled in order to take an unbiased look at this art form. Street art and graffiti have potential to be beneficial to an urban society because of the qualities they bring such as beautification, culture, and economic benefit. Graffiti is defined as a form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group.
The common form of hip hop graffiti which utilizes stylized lettering usually in a paint medium began in the 1960s in Philadelphia and quickly spread to other cities around the world. During the 1990s in New York, a movement was begun by some graffiti writers towards legal graffiti after the implementation of new anti-graffiti policies in the subways of Manhattan. Since then, zero tolerance policies have been implemented in cities all around the world. This has helped to popularize legal graffiti practices by making illegal graffiti less desirable. A more recent trend in graffiti is street art such as the work of popular artist, Banksy. Rather than a medium of communication between writers, street art is commonly directed towards the general public and often contains messages of a political nature communicated through various pop culture icons and recognizable figures. Street art can be seen in many forms such as paint, wheat paste posters, stickers, and sculptures. These methods of legal graffiti and street art are beginning to change the public view of graffiti and its
subculture.
The mainstream ideology that graffiti is inherently bad comes partly from the widespread distribution of the broken windows theory. The broken windows theory states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well-ordered condition may stop further vandalism and escalation into more serious crime. One of the main ideas of this theory is that control and order is what keeps a neighborhood safe and attractive. Also the theory suggests that graffiti and other misdemeanors lead into serious crime and make a neighborhood unsafe. The problem with this theory in association with graffiti is that if it is considered a form of art, it serves to beautify rather than exist as an uncontrolled blemish in an urban setting.
In order to distinguish whether or not graffiti can be considered art one must examine the line between art and vandalism in graffiti. In Our Desires are Ungovernable, Mark Halsey and Alison Young interviewed several graffiti writers. In an interview, J said that, “If you can appreciate it, then I think it is art” (J). In cases of illegal graffiti, it will always be considered, to an extent, both vandalism and art because it is still being done on property of others. In order for government and the graffiti subculture to coexist both sides must take steps to bridge the gap between vandalism and art. By utilizing options such as public art projects and legal graffiti walls the public image of graffiti can be changed to recognize the artistic value of graffiti art and to dispel any bad ideas about the art form.
Graffiti and street art can contribute to the beautification of a city in several ways. First, a wall that is painted with a graffiti mural can offer unique aesthetics to what would otherwise be a plain unattractive wall. As well as turning a wall into a piece of art, the wall will also be clean because the artists who paint the graffiti murals maintain their work after it is complete. In doing so it also provides a destination and a landmark to the location in which it is painted. McAuliffe and Iverson quoted that, “there have even been instances of graffiti by famous artists being protected through heritage controls because of the character that they lend to an urban area” (Dickens 2008b; MacDowall 2006; Young 2010). Permanent legal graffiti projects leave a community with a lasting cultural impression. In Painting with permission: legal graffiti in New York City, Ronald Kramer finds that the graffiti writers he interviewed “felt that they enhanced the community areas in which they produced murals” (Kramer, 246). Members of the communities in which these murals are painted also appreciate the aesthetic value that comes from the art. Graffiti art can contribute to neighborhood revitalization by offering attractive art culture that adds curb appeal to a street. This can in turn raise property values if done correctly and provided with the right market. Some graffiti writers have also “overwhelmingly reported positive feedback from the public” (Kramer, 247). It is clear that the public appreciates the writers who choose to work in legal graffiti and the projects that they create. Additionally, Kramer found that everyone who was questioned supported public art programs such as legal graffiti projects and would like to see more of them in their city. This shows that art programs have the public support they need and that they can do good to the areas in which they are implemented. Graffiti and street art have cultural value in their specific urban society and in world society. Each city has its own unique graffiti style that has been molded by the artists of the area and their work. In Conceptualizing Graffiti in the city, Cameron McAuliffe and Kurt Iverson state that, “writing illegal graffiti for an audience of other graffiti writers offers a way to establish a kind of cultural capital within the graffiti-writing public sphere” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 136). This means that graffiti allows writers to create something that has value within the subculture. The illegality of graffiti is a part of the culture and the idea of graffiti writing. However, illegal graffiti can be a gateway for urban youth towards applying their skills to legal art such as legal graffiti projects. As Herbert Kohl states, “wall graffiti provides material for a glimpse at the life of urban youths” (Kohl, 28). Legal graffiti in turn provides these artists a chance at a career in which they can apply their talent. McAuliffe and Iverson reinforce the fact that, “many graffiti writers embrace illegality as an implicit part of graffiti practice” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 137). While this is true, the practice also represents a culture that can be beneficial to society if given the chance.
Not only does the graffiti determine the graffiti writing subculture of an area but also the culture of the city in which it is created. One common graffiti subculture is hip-hop culture which started in Philadelphia. This culture revolves around graffiti, music, and dance and is an important part of the Philadelphia culture. Graffiti projects become landmarks in cities and can influence the style of or become part of contemporary art. In cities such as New York City, there are sections or streets in neighborhoods reserved as public legal graffiti exhibits that draw many people to view the art. Recent increases in international circulation of graffiti art through various mediums has, “produced a complex global geography of graffiti and street art tied in interesting ways with the rise of creative cities” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 136). Graffiti adds to the vibrancy of urban culture and nurtures young artistic minds while also becoming a part of the global economy.
As graffiti finds its way into the contemporary art scene, it also becomes a part of the local, national, and global economies mostly through marketing and advertising. On a national and global scale, graffiti is something that companies have utilized in marketing towards a hip urban lifestyle. On a local level, graffiti projects in cities can become destinations. In doing so, graffiti projects benefit the local economy by turning businesses in the surrounding area into secondary destinations. In addition to this, graffiti subculture has its own economy revolving around related products and supplies as well as the buying and selling of art. Among the graffiti subculture and the urban realm, “a picture can circulate among friends and colleagues, be published online or in a graffiti magazine, or even make an appearance in a best-selling book” (McAuliffe and Iverson, 137). This can translate to a network of economic opportunity for graffiti writers and including contemporary art, design, advertising, and mainstream media. For example, the Klughaus gallery in New York City is a contemporary art gallery that features artists that began and continue to work in graffiti and street art. The gallery has also “become one of the leading agencies to represent graffiti and street artists in New York City” (klughaus.net). This and other such companies are building business opportunities with large and small companies for street artists and providing them with legal outlets for their skills. Opportunity for writers to sell their skills legally will lead to a more widespread acceptance for the art form.
In conclusion, beautification, culture, and economy are potential benefits that street art and graffiti can bring to urban society. Emerging popular street artists are clearly demonstrating these benefits through their art. Large companies are currently demonstrating this by using graffiti in marketing and sales. This proves that these art styles are attractive to people of all kinds. The movement to the forefront of art by graffiti will work to decrease illegal tagging and increase legal street art. As urban culture continues to evolve, these forms of art will become more prevalent and accepted and their artistic and cultural value will increase.
Works cited Kramer, Ronald. "Painting with permission: legal graffiti in New York City." Ethnography 11.2 (2010): 235-253.
Halsey, Mark, and Alison Young. "‘Our desires are ungovernable’ Writing graffiti in urban space." Theoretical criminology 10.3 (2006): 275-306.
McAuliffe, Cameron, and Kurt Iveson. "Art and crime (and other things besides…): Conceptualising graffiti in the city." Geography Compass 5.3 (2011): 128-143.
Kohl, Herbert, and James Hinton. "Names graffiti and culture." The Urban Review 3.5 (1969): 24-38.